Patent GB-1063991-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to automatic telephone exchange systems
Inventor: STIRLING HAROLD JAMES
IPC: H04Q3/52
Filed: 1963-04-26
Abstract: 1,063,991. Automatic exchange systems. ASSOCIATED ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd. March 10, 1964 [April 26, 1963], No. 16533/63. Heading H4K. A group of incoming junctions are supervised by a scanner the first half of each scan period of which examines an associated junction for calling condition and the second half of which examines a group of junctions for dialling pulses. With 400 junctions 1/CJ with circuits 1/CJC the scanner SC is a 400 stage ring counter comprised of two modified binary decade ring counters and a four-stage ring counter. The scanner connects with the junction circuits 1/CJC over a gating field GC in which the junctions are arranged in ten groups of forty each of which groups has ten subgroups of four. The four-stage counter marks 100 corresponding gates in each of the groups of four and these gates are opened in sequence by the decade counters. The four-stage counter is advanced for each successive scan of 100 gates. This scanning function occurs in the first half of each scan period. During the second half of each scan period the four-stage ring counter is overriden and all four members of the group of four gates marked by the decade counters are examined for loop condition at the same time. This enables the search for dial pulses to be conducted at four times the rate at which calling conditions are examined. The identity of a junction is indicated in the scanner by the states of the four bi-stable circuits of each decade counter and the oneout-of-four mark extended from the four-stage counter to open a path to the leads Ph1 to Ph4 each connected in common to a respective group of 100 cycled by the decade counters. A group of 50 registers REG together with at least two dummy registers DREG are connected in parallel to the scanner. A calling junction is identified if an open loop condition exists and none of the registers store the identity of the junction. The first idle register indicated by an allotter AL is taken into use and the state of the bi-stable circuits of the decade counters and the one-out-of-four mark on the leads Ph1 to Ph4 is registered. Each bi-stable circuit in each register has a comparator circuit to check its state against the state of the corresponding bi-stable circuit or lead Ph1 to Ph4 presented by the scanner to all registers REG at the same time. When a calling junction is identified a signal is returned from registers over a common lead nc to inhibit the seizure of more than one register and to obtain an answer from the scanner over lead ca to initiate release of the allotter and busy the register. A further signal on common lead ci from the scanner sets off the dial impulsing counter section in the register to prevent a calling loop being interpreted as a dial pulse. Dial pulses are identified in the second half of each scanning period by the fact that the identity of a dialling junction will be stored in a register. Four registers can detect and register dial pulses received over their respective junctions in the same scan period since each of the group of four scanned at the one time will have a different one-out-of-four marking on the leads Ph1 to Ph4. After receipt of some dialled digits the identity of a junction, converted from binary and one-out-of-four marks into three two-out-of-five marks, is communicated to a common translator TR by way of a coupler TC. The translator is also given the called line identity to enable a routing choice to be made in a sectionalized exchange as described in Specification 989,336. When a call is set up the register is cleared, released and put back in charge of the allotter AL. If all registers are busy the allotter brings in a dummy register such as DREG which registers the identity of the calling junction and in consultation with the translator TR sets up a path to the junction to return busy tone. The dummy register is released by a timing circuit and put back in charge of the allotter unless a proper register REG has been released meanwhile. Connection of busy tone to the junction is accompanied by and is connection of the junction to prevent it seizing a further register. If busy tone is not returned the fault is detected by the dummy register which sets off an alarm and holds the junction. The gating circuit GC, the scanner SC, and the allotter AL, are provided in duplicate with each member of the pair being connected up alternately unless one fails when it is disconnected. The registers are fused and if the fuses fail the register is disconnected. The bi-stable circuits and gates are transistorized.